Geotechnical engineering and the usage of geosynthetic materials are very common in today's civil engineering marketplace. One of the most common geosynthetic materials available today are waterproofing products. Waterproofing products generally include geomembranes which are located in different layers of the earthen structure. Such geomembranes are laid on the top surface of, for example, a landfill, with a selected amount of landfill material then placed over the geomembrane layer, followed by another geomembrane, then more landfill material, etc. Such geomembranes are used for a broad variety of applications, with common applications including waterproofing layers in waste storage facilities, gas barrier layers in waste storage facilities, the use of a geomembrane drainage material for waterproofing in water and wastewater storage and treatment facilities, the use of geosynthetic drainage layers in roadway, rail and transportation applications and many others.
Waste collection sites are, of course, one well known type of geotechnical construction site, and are unavoidably required in today's societal structures. Such sites can require large amounts of valuable land, particularly in urban areas where land is most in demand. Also, while desirable uses can be made of such lands (for example, golf courses have been built on such sites), such desirable uses typically have to wait until the land is no longer being used for collect further waste and the often high pile of waste has stabilized. While use and stabilization of such sites can take many years, there is nevertheless a desire to have that accomplished as quickly as possible, not only to increase the safety of those who might have to be at the site but also to allow for the desired use of others (for example, golfers) and to enhance the environment of those who live in the area as soon as is reasonably possible.
Further, in many sites in which geomembranes are used, vertical members extend into the earth for a variety of reasons, such as piles with pile caps to support structures in or above the earth, and vertical pipes in landfills (e.g., to facilitate flow of leachate/liquid within the landfill, or to vent gases from the landfill). However, since the earth can shift and settle around such vertical members, it can be difficult to provide the proper construction around those members. For example, if the geomembranes are secured to the vertical members, shifting of the earth around those members can strain and tear the geomembranes, hindering their ability to provide the desired filtering and barrier in those locations. On the other hand, if the geomembranes are laid so as to be able to freely move relative to the vertical members, the geomembranes may not be damaged by shifting of the earth, but gaps are inevitably present around the vertical members which similarly will hinder the ability to filter and/or block fluid flow around the members.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.